Signs of Sorcery

Aug 27th, 2019 02:33 PM

He didn't make any special preparations for October's eventual arrival. Not that he even could, leaving the Acanthus free to choose the date without a heads-up. And he was no Enchanter, Fate and Time weren't his thing to guesstimate with.

Still, the magic detector and the gun-shaped tracker are within reach, the fridge is filled with food and drink (alcoholic and not), and the relatively small living space Shodan cares to maintain is a bit less messy than usual. Dressed in a hoodie, the Libertine passes the time with a work and fun mixture.

"Trash!" when the Apostate enters, she is likely to witness a box full of rattling something inside, flying in a projectile arc across the room "Trash!" And another. And another "Oh, wait a minute!" He whistles "Nope, trash!" One more.

Gremlin, Shodan's cat, watches the spectacle from a safe distance. The longer you look at the beast, the more convinced you are that it looks amused.

**October** · Aug 27th, 2019 09:50 PM

When one is randomly stopping by someones place, even though invited, you always bring something. For her, it was some beer from a local brewery in a growler. It was pretty good, a light ale for summer.

More casual than at the Circle, she knocked on the door, then remembered the message, and walks in.

“Hello?” calls out the Enchantress. “I come in peace, and bearing beer!” she announces. But it wasn’t hard to miss Shodan, from the noise and the stuff flying, he appeared deep into something. The cat was noted, and she smiles at it, cats were cute.

Aug 28th, 2019 03:44 AM

"Tra...Oh!" The Enchantress' timely arrival saved another box from the gruesome fate of being thrown at a wall "Hi, didn't see you there at first. You know. Work" An apologetic expression, but no further words on that, as if the term 'work' explained everything and then some.

"Let me unburden you from that" says Shodan, looking at the growler. If allowed, he'll take the jug and go fetch some glasses, to promptly cool the whole set down and place it on the table.

3 successes

"If you're hungry, then I have some good news if you like leftover pizza, or some bad news if you don't" He smiles. Focus, my man, focus. "Anyway, since I know you're probably busy, Dr. Quinn, I'll get right to it, and if by the time we're finished you still have time and patience for me, I'd be totally down for making sure there's really nothing left in that growler" All that time, the Libertine barely stops moving. He wordlessly gestures to one of the chairs though, inviting October to sit. Shodan's quicksilver nature is far from universal, and he knows it.

A short trip to the garage space later, the Obrimos comes back with a box containing a square device that looked like it had been made in the 50s and modeled after old pulp science fiction comics, but was in fact surprisingly modern, with a flat digital display and several buttons. Upon activation, the display comes to life. The other two objects in the box were a pistol and something like a small GPS locator.

He looks up from the assorted electronics at the Enchantress.

"The gun thing is a tracker, we'll get to it later. This here" he taps the square device "detects uncloaked spells. Range about fifteen meters, give or take. Can't tell how far you are, but roughly pinpoints location. Come on, cast something. Give it a go"

**October** · Aug 28th, 2019 02:30 PM

An amused look, “Work? What do you do exactly?” she was curious because it didn’t look like work to her.

She lets him take the growler. “It’s a summer ale. Wasn’t sure if you liked beer, and if you did, what kind you liked. But it is from a local brewery.” Like that would make it better. “Cold beer and glasses, perfect!” cause warm beer just sucked.

“Left over pizza? One of my favorites!” there was hardly anything except take out and pizza at her house. Being home long enough to cook was just not usually a thing. “Plus, what else goes with beer?” besides wings, but that was different. “Dr Quinn huh?” she laughs, “Going to show my age by admitting I remember that show.” Not that it concerned her, she did not look her age and loved it. She sits, watching him, wondering where he got all his energy.

Eyes watch, wondering just what the hell she was looking at. It worked, if the display was anything to go off.

Then eyes widen, “Wait,” she says, “detects uncloaked spells?!” disbelief in her voice, “Seriously?” eyes look from him to device. “Cast something?” she thinks for a moment, then shrugs. Casting something easy, a shield. Which went off without a hitch. She then looks to him expectantly.

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2019-08-28 14:28:30	October rolls 4 to Fortunes's Fate(Gno+Fate) (10 Again)	2, 5, 9, 4	1 success

Aug 28th, 2019 04:20 PM

"Used to be a corporate wageslave in Silicon Valley, now I do freelance computer work. Build them, repair them, make sure they're safe from people with criminal intent. It gets boring, but it pays the bills until I can get something of my own started" He admits "If you mean this" He scoffs at the murdered boxes "Human consciousness digitization. Quantum computing. My own magical pet project. A shipment of parts came in today, but someone messed up the order and now I am a proud owner of a lifetime supply of water pump spare parts" He sighs. The complaint procedure on this one is going to take forever.

Thankfully, there was beer. And food. And good company. Which might pull the Obrimos out of his crushing despair.

"Mm. Fancy" He comments, pouring the growler's contents into the cooled glasses and placing the assortment of pizza slices on the table. The brew and a bit of pepperoni are tasted. Lecture time is coming.

His face is deadly serious as the Acanthus voices her concerns, and that doesn't happen often. Instead of answering October's doubts with words, he simply nods. Show don't tell and all that. As expected, the device goes off, emitting sounds like a wand metal detector, pointing right at the Acanthus.

"See? Works. But it doesn't mean there aren't ways to fuck with it a little. For example, if you're an Apprentice of Forces, you can make yourself invisible to machines, right? But it is a spell, so it registers on the display, only without pointing at you. Throw in a bit of High Speech, sound shenanigans and you've got yourself some much needed chaos. It's field-tested, trust me" God, if he ever has this much adrenaline as that day, he's going to die of a heart attack.

"Now this" He grips the gun in one hand, and the GPS in the other "is super nasty stuff. It acts like a tracker, except it has effectively unlimited ammo" Shodan shows the other mage the magazine, filled with tiny grains of what looks like sand, then promptly reattaches it to the rest of the gun "works through most barriers, including concrete, has long range and it isn't really electromagnetism, but a form of... etheric radiation from the pellets themselves. So, everything that normally stops GPS from working, like tinfoil, is useless. The really scary part, though? You can barely feel it hitting you, and even then it's like a mosquito bite. So you can have a tail and not even know it" To think just how close he was to being captured... it sends shivers down Shodan's spine "I'll eventually make each of our people one of these"

"Anyway, I picked those up when Winter and I were supposed to go on a date with the FBI agents" Add a little humor to the otherwise dour situation, that is and always has been Shodan's way of life "Except he stood me up, and one tiny mistake later it was me against a bunch of angry suits. Like that bar shootout scene from Desperado or something"

He was still pissed at the Guardian for that. But what is he going to do? Judging by the lack of support he got on the debriefing, no one in this Consilium gave much of a fuck about Guardian bullies.

**October** · Aug 28th, 2019 10:01 PM

“Well good for you for getting out being a wageslave. Not everyone is willing to leave something with a guaranteed paycheck.” She couldn’t imagine doing a job she didn’t like. “Are you looking to start your own business?” always admirable, but not always something successful. Glancing at the boxes again, she smirks, “Water pumps huh?” a chuckle, “If nothing else, could probably sell them online if you’re stuck with them. “And there has to be something badass you could make with them.” Might as well have fun with them.

A solemn nod, “Very fancy.” She agrees taking a sip of the beer.

As the machine went off with noises, “Well shit, it really does!” she wasn’t expecting it to actually work. “That creates a whole new list of problems.” She listens, looking at the device here and there. “Has anyone tried any Fate on it? I’m not going to,” cause she didn’t know if they had another, “but Fate has some ways of messing with electronics and those who use them.” She points out. “Forces isn’t my thing, and I’m not sure Death will be of much help. But I can create some fun situations.” Fate was a blast!

“A tracker?” oh for fucks sake! Why did she come to Sacramento? “What about mage armor?” though if it could pierce concrete, she wasn’t liking the odds. “Can it be removed once attached? Or have you found a way to detect if someone’s been tagged?” if not, they needed to. She takes a larger sip this time, “I don’t know a whole lot about what blocks GPS’s and all that. But I think some tests need to be run to see if we can counter this. This is some nasty shit!” her eyes showing excitement, “Are we allowed to run tests?”

She then shifts focus, not all that easy for an Acanthus. But she manages. “A date huh? I hope it was some place nice.” Joining in on the humor. “Stood you up? That’s just rude, hope you didn’t spend too much time getting ready. Finding the perfect outfit can be a pain.” Clearly she was having more fun with this than she probably should. Eyes widen, “Really? Obviously, you won.” Cause he’s sitting there talking with her. “How’d you make it out?”

Aug 29th, 2019 05:29 AM

"I am. Virtual Reality is all the rage these days, so I figure if I could start something that combines Sleeper research with my own Awakened interests and can buy me that limo I always wanted, why not?" He drinks to that. If he could pull that off, the rest of the Prime Movers will be green with envy at the next Expo, and for this Obrimos that is reason enough to do it "But I'd need big money to start and someone to keep the non-technical side of business afloat. We had an accountant and a lawyer here some time ago, but they both moved away" He missed Abacus and Juris. The Acanthus bookie was downright brilliant, and the Mastigos was pretty nice... for a thearch.

"Aww, thanks for the vote of confidence!" He says, already sketching the probable designs in his mind. 'Robots' and 'laser beams' come up with disturbing regularity "It may be trash, but making things that shouldn't work but somehow do is a hobby of mine" Or if they happen to not work after all, you can always blow them up. He consumes some more pizza and beer before resuming the lecture, taking the time to listen to October's input.

"Ah. Right. Forgot the Enchanters have a hard time learning that Arcanum" Applying the same standard to everything is something the Path of the Might is very good at "No one has tried Fate on it, and until you showed up I'm not even sure if we had people that could use it. But it's probably a good idea to make a copy of the device for experiments" He shrugs "Mage Armor is a thing, because it's still a projectile - but if it's not enough to stop it, then you're basically toast. Also, I didn't test it but Matter allows you to detect substances or even specific objects - so we can use that. And yes, you can remove it - again, field-tested. They hit me with it, and I had to perform self-surgery using nothing but a multi-tool!" God, does he sound proud of that. But truth be told, can you blame him? "Honestly, how I didn't damage the cervical vertebrae is beyond me. Beginner's luck, I guess?" He smiles coyly, trying to rein the pride in. Failing "Anyway, like I said: I will produce more of them eventually, so we'll be able to run all the tests we want" But first, he'd need to order the proper tools and have his fingers crossed that they don't confuse them this time.

As for the, uh, 'date'...

"A wine bar called 'First Draft'. Normally too fancy for me, but they picked it, so..." He decides to go along with the joke, and chuckles at the outfit quip "For you? I can't imagine. I mean, with all that Time and Fate on your side..." Shodan knows neither, but can't you just magically know what's the best outcome? "Anyway, turns out, they had something of a field office out back. And as much as I'd like to tell you that I kicked their asses like it was a wuxia movie, the truth is: I created a distraction and ran like hell" It's not like he's admitting failure or anything. He got the goods, he busted the FBIs cover and all this without compromising long-term security. Winter can say moan he wants, it was a good, if stressful day.

"But that's really just peanuts. The Circle's Clock is where the really crazy shit starts" And he only got a small taste of it "Tell me, do you have any experience with time travel?"

**October** · Aug 29th, 2019 10:01 PM

“I got to try that out at PAX East this year. Was a blast!” what? Conventions were fun. Laughing, “Your very own limo huh? Well, I wish you luck, just don't forget us little people." she adds with a wink, "It’s a great field, ever changing and growing.” Her own glasses raised to his future success. “Isn’t that how it always goes? You want your own business, but need the money to get it started. Accountants, the lawyers of numbers.” Math wasn’t her thing. Sure, she had medical math, but that was the extent for her.

Laughing, “Sounds like a fun hobby. For me, it’s saving the loves of those who shouldn’t have survived.” A bite of pizza was taken with a shrug.

“Which is why I haven’t spent much time on it. We can learn it, but I’d much rather focus my energy on other spheres.” Like Death. “If you can make a copy, I’m more than happy to throw some Fate at it. See if we can come up with a counter to this thing. Cause this shifts the odds in the enemies favor and that’s not ok.” Nope.

An eyebrow goes up, “Wait, you removed it yourself? On the cervical vertebrae?” was there some disbelief? Yeah. “Well depending on which one could have been damaged would have decided what injury you would have been left with. Just promise me you’ll call me if there is a next time ok?” she had to chuckle, “But I’m glad you didn’t hurt yourself.” It could have gone bad. “Luck was on your side.” Next time? Maybe not. “If I can help with that, producing them, let me know. I might not be as tech savvy as you, but a little luck in your favor might be good.” It never hurt.

A nod, “They do come in handy when I need to make the perfect first impression.” True enough. “Hey, nothing wrong with that. Means you live to fight them another day and got some useful info.” Always a silver lining.

“The Circle’s Clock?” crazy shit? “Time travel?” her head shakes, “No experience myself, it’s a bit advanced for me. But I’ve heard tales of the years of other Awakened who had experience, or knew someone who had experienced it. That type of thing. Though I believe it’s possible. Why?”

Aug 30th, 2019 03:44 AM

"Hey, I'm a Libertine! We're alllll about the little people!" He exclaims, then watches her impassively for a few seconds "I'll let you ride in it from time to time" He winks right back at the Acanthus.

"So, you becoming a doctor... was that about a challenge? I can totally empathize with that hold-my-beer attitude" Or maybe it was mainly a family thing? There are 'doctor families', like 'lawyer families' and political dynasties, right?

The disbelief in October's voice is met with a perplexed expression, like how can you even doubt that kind of thing? Well, maybe if you're a trained physician you can take all medical claims with a grain of salt, but this self-surgery thing is hardly the most difficult part to believe from what's already been said "Oh yes. Go ahead and give me nightmares by describing all the horrible injuries I could've been left with if I screwed this up" He replies, but with no small dose of amusement. Workplace accidents were a thing, only so far he's had enough luck to dodge the explosions "Although, if getting hit means I get to make an appointment, I just might consider doing that on purpose" The Prime Mover grins, and quickly covers the expression up with beer and pizza.

Oh yes, the Clock. Quite possibly the single most potent source of Sacramento problems and the solution to said problems, all rolled up into one Supernal-touched object. There to mock and entice the Consilium mages.

"You know, the one on the Circle's tower and the carvings on the floor" He explains "Now, we're moving a bit away from my expertise so I'm just gonna quote Campanella, our Hierarch. He's a Mysterium dude, so they're supposed to know all about these things right?" And with that caveat, he moves on to the explanation proper "Supposedly, it's an Artifact, powered by soul stones and acting like a spacetime ward. Basically, it's the reason this Consilium still exists. Or has ever existed, from what the boss-man tells - apparently the Seers tried to erase it from history" If October doesn't run screaming after this one, there's a good case to be made that she'll stick around. All these things wanting to kill you... Shodan still had trouble wrapping his head around it, and he's lived it "People, buildings... I hear they just vanished. But here's the silver lining - the Clock can send us back in time, or in one case to the present but away, to counter the Seer plot. I was part of a group that got sent to 17th century London, but apparently the French Revolution and Florida a couple decades back were also a thing" There doesn't appear to be any rhyme or reason to it... or maybe he doesn't see it yet. After all, there was Archmastery at work.

Speaking of Archmastery...

"There was also an Imperial Time spell that did... something, and an old guy who told us to 'honor the sacrifice' of Arthur, Tyria and West. I don't know who that is or what that sacrifice was. Frankly, this Clock thing feels like connecting puzzle pieces from different sets" Every time he thought he understood it, some new layer of mystery showed. It was exciting, if evidently dangerous. But the time for magical mysteries discussed today was slowly passing.

"Anyway, I'm about done playing Basil Exposition" The Obrimos chuckles "Questions?"

**October** · Aug 30th, 2019 03:15 PM

There was an honest laugh, “How kind of you.” She shots back, amused.

“Yes and no. Medicine has always been fascinating to me, being able to save someone’s life is a high like no other. But I also had people telling me that I was too pretty to be smart enough to finish medical school. So a mixture of a challenge and something I genuinely enjoyed.” And so she did it.

Smirking, “Oh I can. But something tells me knowing those wouldn’t stop you from doing it again. I do give you props though, that had to take some guts to do.” Credit where it was due, not many would have been willing to do that. “In that case, if you’re lucky enough to get hit again, I won’t use any lidocaine.” Was she being serious? Hard to tell, but she looked amused. “Though I can make sure you’re left with a badass scar.” A solemn nod.

“I figure it was just an antique clock. Never would have figured it had anything to do with time travel.” Cause, yah, last place your mind goes with a clock. Shrugging, “Maybe.” She doesn’t know the guy, but he can’t know everything. A sip, or three was taken as she processes, “Whoa, the Seers tried to erase it from history?!” eyes wide, “This is some next level bullshit. I don’t usually underestimate the Seer’s, but this seems a bit advanced for them. Do you guys know why they’d want the Consillium gone? What purpose it would serve to have it disappear?” cause they’re driven by something. “So people and whole buildings are just, gone? Are these people and buildings that have ties to the Consillium?” messing with Time in this was way was bad. Tapestries were being destroyed. “Serious? The 17^th century? Wow, that must have been something.” She sounded amazed by this.

“I’d love to look at the Clock with some Time spells. Maybe see if I can get a glimpse of the past of the Clock.” What would the Clock show her? Was she powerful enough to even get anything off it?

Eyebrows raise, “Questions? I have a lot of them.” A laugh as she drinks more beer, “I don’t even know where to start. You dumped a lot on me, but there is a lot of fascinating and terrifying things going on.”

Signs of Sorcery

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